


Sysadmin

by water_bby



Series: Derivation [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clones, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25111780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/water_bby/pseuds/water_bby
Summary: In the aftermath of SHIELD's fall, Phil Coulson is now Director.  He also needs to find out about Project TAHITI.  Luckily, he knows where to find the Phil Coulson who oversaw the project.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Series: Derivation [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/219512
Kudos: 16
Collections: Trope Bingo: Round Fourteen





	Sysadmin

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Reunion square, Trope Bingo round 14.

Phil Coulson stared at the door through which Nick Fury had just disappeared, exasperated. The man could still flatfoot him, even after all these years. TAHITI was used on an Avenger? Like that would make it all OK? Of course, Nick didn’t know that Phil knew that he was a clone, so he supposed it wasn’t a bad exit line. But why had Fury put him in charge of resurrecting the agency rather than his twin?

Phil looked at the box with Fury’s secrets and wondered what he’d find in it. For now, he needed to get his people somewhere safe. Then he’d worry about what his twin hadn’t told him. The first piece of information from the box, however, was two familiar phone numbers and the note, “in case of emergency.” Since one of the numbers was his and the other his twin’s, Fury would accept they knew each other in the future. Phil wondered how far they would be able to milk that piece of information.

Two weeks later, with the team settled in the Playground, and Skye and Koeing finally feeling up to protecting the base even with both Phil and Melinda absent, Phil took Melinda on a trip. She’d protested at first, but he’d reminded her, “We need to know more about TAHITI,” and she’d left to pack a bag.

Phil grinned at her when they pulled into the driveway of a white two-story farmhouse to find Clint Barton hanging off a ladder while painting shutters. When Melinda blinked rapidly, which for her was an exclamation of surprise, Phil said, “They needed a place to get away to. Nobody knows about this place but us. Well, and probably Natasha.”

While they got out of the SUV, Clint stowed his paintbrush and made his way to the ground. By the time they said hello to one another, he was ushering them into the house.

The next few minutes were somewhat awkward, Melinda still unsure why they were there, the other Phil clearly wondering why Phil had brought her, and Clint darting his eyes between the three of them like he was wondering who to take down first. Actually, knowing Clint and the way Clint knew Phil, that might be precisely what he was preparing for.

Phil decided to get the easy part out of the way first. “I had a visit from Fury.”

Other Phil quirked up one side of his lips. “I just had a cryptic message about the early bird getting the worm and staying away from the coordinates he sent me. Oh, and a number for emergencies that I found rather familiar.”

“The worm, in this case, is SHIELD. I’m now the Director.” That explained why him, then. Fury just went with the one that showed up first.

“Condolences?” Clint said while pulling a bottle of whiskey out from one of the cabinets. “And this sounds like it’s going to need more than beer. Melinda, come supervise the painting.” And he practically dragged Melinda from the kitchen and up the stairs, each of them holding a bottle of beer.

All four of them knew that Melinda only went because Phil had nodded his assent.

“You didn’t need a face-to-face to tell me about SHIELD, so what’s this really about?” His twin poured two large whiskeys, pushing one toward Phil.

“TAHITI.”

His twin swallowed, hard. “What about it?”

“Melinda found your resignation letter.” Phil watched the other man’s shoulders tighten.

“Where?”

“Our grave.” Phil was pleased to see a small jerk. He shouldn’t be the only one bothered by all this.

“Do you want to start with why they used it on a clone or with the side effects?”

“Why me. I’ll want Melinda for the discussion of the hypergraphia.”

His twin took a large drink from his glass and then nodded at the stools by the kitchen island. “Have a seat. I’ll get what I’ve been able to put together about the cloning program.”

The file he brought back was thin, but the papers inside contained the answer Phil had been looking for. The cloning process had worked physically, but they had not been able to sustain the mental overlay. Finally, three days after the Battle of New York, the lead researcher had been ordered to pack up all the data and “in process experiments.” The next day, there was a transport slip for a medical delivery to the Guest House, and transfer orders for a Dr. Clausen, a plastic surgeon, to an undisclosed facility. Dr. Streiten and four nurses were transferred a day after that.

Well, at least Nick hadn’t had a spear plunged through his body to achieve realistic scars. That was good to know.

“I think they used the serum from the Guest House to force the mental connections that weren’t taking in the standard cloning procedure,” Phil’s twin said. “The memory manipulation came from our experience with the side effects. The last I checked, shortly after New York, all the subjects were doing fine in their new lives.”

“So they did take something.”

“The machines were designed to remove any knowledge of the TAHITI project and provide a new identity. Since you don’t have a new name, I think they disabled that portion, and nothing you’ve told me in the past suggests that they took anything except TAHITI.”

“How did you get subjects?”

“Agents with terminal diagnoses who were fully briefed on the fact that we had no idea what would happen, just that the animal tests suggested they would be able to live out full, normal lives.”

Phil paused. “So the side effects didn’t show up until it was given to humans?”

His twin nodded, staring at the tumbler between his hands. “The trigger seems to be knowing about the procedure. We were about to release the first group when, when the hypergraphia started. I was in the middle of an exit interview when we first saw it.” His twin met his eyes. “Nick shouldn’t have put you through it, but keeping it from you was the right call.” Then he smiled shyly. “I’m glad to have met you, though.”

Phil smiled back, nodding, because he was glad to have met his twin, too. “Water under the bridge. Shall we make sure May hasn’t pushed Barton off the ladder?”

“Just lean out the front door and holler.” 

Before he left the room, Phil looked back, “We need to know more about the hypergraphia. Both of us.”

His twin nodded in acknowledgment and disappeared in the same direction he had gone for the cloning file.

When Melinda came back down the stairs, Phil was back in the kitchen, having topped off the glasses of whiskey, and met her with a nod and a glance at the bottle he was holding. She nodded back, and he poured a glass for her as well. They had both taken a seat when his twin returned with two tablets with SHIELD markings.

“Guaranteed not bugged, per both Stark and JARVIS,” he said as he set the tablets down in front of Phil and Melinda. “I erased the log-in security, so you’ll want to reset that, but here is everything I have on TAHITI.”

“And you’re just handing it over?” Melinda sounded doubtful.

“It was a SHIELD project. He’s the Director of SHIELD.” Phil’s twin was wearing the half-blank, half-confused expression that they both knew irritated her.

“Oh, of course,” she replied dryly before turning to her tablet.

“Melinda, seriously, you need to know. I’ve already told him, knowing about the procedure seems to be what triggers the hypergraphia.”

“Anything else we should know before we start reading?” Phil asked.

“Trying to stop the writing made things worse.” His twin nodded at the tablets. “It’s in there. I’ll go join Clint and let you read in peace.” Then he was off up the stairs, and Phil and Melinda each turned to their tablet.

When they climbed back into the car the next morning, Phil smirked at Melinda. “I give good presents.” He held up the piece of paper. “The whereabouts of several SHIELD agents, guaranteed not HYDRA. Ready to start recruiting?”

Melinda didn’t roll her eyes, but he could tell she wanted to. “Yes, Director.”

He laughed. So his twin worked with superheroes. He had an agency to rebuild and a HYDRA to destroy.


End file.
